


Fourth of July

by jubilee_line



Series: MCYT Oneshots [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Youtubers
Genre: ARGWilbur reference, Angst, Based on a song, Cancer, Character Death, Death, Evil Wilbur Soot, Heavy Angst, I'm sorry this is really sad, Insane Wilbur Soot, Let It Be (Bertie Gilbert) reference, M/M, So much angst, Song: Fourth of July (Sufjan Stevens), Wilbur Soot Needs a Hug, both of them die, brownie points to anyone who gets the references, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:20:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27578401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jubilee_line/pseuds/jubilee_line
Summary: Wilbur loses his mind after Schlatt loses his battle with cancer.
Relationships: Jschlatt/Wilbur Soot
Series: MCYT Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2015708
Comments: 28
Kudos: 146





	Fourth of July

**Based off of Fourth of July by Sufjan Stevens**

**Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1oQHGpWospnIez48wnkpGa**

**TW** **: mentions of death, cancer, suicide**

_"The evil it spread like a fever ahead_   
_It was night when you died, my firefly"_

The wind carried the ringing of the bells at the church, four strikes, each one taking place of where the heart rate monitor should have sounded: each one for a year Wilbur had known Schlatt. As the last remnants of the rings were carried away by the blustering wind as it travelled on, the night fell silent, the only sound the monotone hum of a life that was no more.

_"What could I have said to raise you from the dead?_  
Oh _could I be the sky on the Fourth of July?"_

When Schlatt was admitted to the hospital, Wilbur almost never left the room. It was cancer. Of course it was fucking cancer. He would stay and talk to him for hours about everything and nothing at the same time; what he'd read in the news whilst the other was asleep, gossip Tommy had texted him, every meticulous little detail about his journey back to their home to have a shower and eat some food. He wasn't eating much, but he knew he had to eat something. _For Schlatt,_ he told himself. _He had to be strong for Schlatt._

"Do you remember when I first kissed you?'" Wilbur asked gently, revelling in the nostalgic smile it brought upon his lover's face.

"How could I forget." Schlatt chuckled. His voice was weak but the feistiness remained. "You'd just come over to the US 'cus you'd never celebrated the Fourth of July-"

"I'm British, I had no reason to!" Wilbur butted in with a laugh.

"Ok fair enough but you were so fuckin' nervous to meet my family, even as a friend, good thing you hit it off with em quickly or you would have been a mess for the whole goddamn holiday." He glanced over to Wilbur, who was watching him, an eyebrow raised but a smile on his face. "It was that evening, wasn't it, during the fireworks. You wouldn't stop staring at me, I just wanted to watch the fireworks display so I got pissed 'n snapped at you to watch them too and-" his words were broken off by uncontainable laughs he could suppress no longer. "And you looked like I'd kicked your puppy or something, but you still pulled me off away from the fireworks over to the forest n kissed me, right." Schlatt's eyes were glossing over, the memory drawing out many different emotions. "And it was so fucking cliché but, I mean, what did I expect from you!" He exclaimed, and glanced over to Wilbur, his smile falling as he noticed the silent tears streaming down his now-red and splotchy face.

_Well you do enough talk_   
_My little hawk, why do you cry?_   
_Tell me what did you learn from the Tillamook burn?_   
_Or the Fourth of July?_

  
"Hey hey hey Wilbur don't do that," Schlatt pulled himself forward so his legs were hanging off the side of his hospital bed, wary of the IV in his arm. "That was a good time, wasn't it." Wilbur nodded, his body starting to shake as his head remained firmly down, tears leaving little circles on his jeans. "C'mere, Wil." Schlatt whispered, patting the space next to him as the taller stood up from the chair he was seated in before basically collapsing onto the bed, pulling Schlatt close to him as he buried his face in the American's shoulder, sobs wracking his body.

"Please don't leave me." Wilbur mumbled into the hospital gown. "You can't leave me. I can't live without you."

"Calm down, Wil. You'll be OK. I love you so much but you're gonna have to live without me. Promise me you'll live a great life without me." Schlatt whispered into his ear, trying to stop the cracks in his voice as he desperately held back sobs.

_We're all gonna die_

He was dead the next month.

_Sitting at the bed with the halo at your head_   
_Was it all a disguise, like Junior High_   
_Where everything was fiction, future, and prediction_   
_Now, where am I?_   
_My fading supply_

It had been two months since Schlatt had been diagnosed, and the outcome of death was unlikely to be avoided. He had recently been started on a round of chemotherapy in an all but futile attempt to delay the inevitable and he tried to take it well. When Wilbur was there, he would try so hard to suppress the vomit rising up his throat, spending an hour after he had left retching and gagging, his throat burning, as did his eyes. When his hair started to fall out he tried his very best to hide it, brushing it the other way to cover bald patches, or wearing his iconic cap to cover it. It wasn't until Wilbur walked into to see Schlatt sobbing on the floor, clumps of brown curls in his hands, that he fully comprehended the impact this had been having on him. When most of his hair was gone, Wilbur have him most of his (pretty large) collection of beanies to wear, and wear them he did. It was strange to see the American not sporting one, whether it was the burgundy one, his merch or the one Wilbur was sent from tiktok. It meant he could glance at himself in the mirror and not break down at least.

_Did you get enough love, my little dove_   
_Why do you cry?_   
_And I'm sorry I left, but it was for the best_   
_Though it never felt right_   
_My little Versailles_

  
"Wilbur?" Schlatt whispered, fading in and out of consciousness. They both knew it was his time to go.

"I'm right here, love."

"Promise me...promise me you'll live on-" he was interrupted with a bout of coughs, shaking his entire body. "Promise me you'll live on without me. Please."

"I don't know if I can." Wilbur responded, his hot tears falling into the hand of Schlatt's he was holding.

"Please. I won't be here much longer but-but you have your whole life ahead of you. I will see you again. I promise you we will meet again somehow and I- I've signed the do not resuscitate papers."

"Schlatt no-"

"Please Wil. It-its too painful. I don't want to live like this any longer."

"No." Wilbur managed through sobs, not disagreeing to anything in particular, more the whole situation.

"I promise you, Wil, I will see you. I love you so much and-" another bout of coughs. Wilbur only rubbed the pad of his thumb over the other's knuckles soothingly. "And these past four years, they've been the best of my life. I could never thank you enough for that." He looked over to Wilbur, moving his hand to lace his fingers through the Brits longer ones and squeezing it with as much force as he could muster. "I would rather have spent four years with you than a lifetime without you, Wil. When I'm gone I- I'm gonna be in so much less pain, right. And I know it's gonna be sad, but don't think about it as a goodbye, right, it's just a 'see you later'"

"That-that's so cheesy." Wilbur managed a small smile through the tears.

"I know, and I'm not religious, but I know I will see you somehow, somewhere again OK?" He smiled as he felt himself start to fall unconscious again.

_The hospital asked should the body be cast_   
_Before I say goodbye, my star in the sky_   
_Such a funny thought to wrap you up in cloth_   
_Do you find it all right, my dragonfly?_

It was surprising to most people how well Wilbur took the death. The people who had seen him be pretty much constantly distraught for the past few months, albeit justified, were the same people he was comforting as he stood there with a melancholy smile. It was like something had switched off, something had changed and ultimately they knew it was not good, but they were just all too afraid. He was teetering on the edge of something. What? They didn't know. But they sure as hell knew that they didn't want to be the one to push him over it.

_Shall we look at the moon, my little loon_   
_Why do you cry?_   
_Make the most of your life, while it is rife_   
_While it is light_

It's funny. To most people, death is dark. It's mourning, crows, midnight, an end, but to Wilbur, it's quite the opposite. To him, he thinks, death is light. It's a release, an end to the pain, doves, peace, purity. He stood there, musing as he stared at the moon, bathing the dark waters in glistening light. He basked in the thought that Schlatt was no longer suffering, he was at peace, happy once again, thinking back to some of his last words. _It was never goodbye_ he remembered with a fond smile. _Just a see you later._

_Well you do enough talk_   
_My little hawk, why do you cry?_   
_Tell me what did you learn from the Tillamook burn?_   
_Or the Fourth of July?_

A week prior to this moment was the funeral. Wilbur got to speak of course, and speak he did. With a smile on his face and cheeks wet with tears, he reminisced of their time together. From the moment they met, to their first kiss on the Fourth of July, to the day Wilbur was planning to propose. The good times, the not-so-good times and those mundane moments you don't think much of at the time but long for once they're gone. Everyone thought he was handling it well. Too well. 

_We're all gonna die_

So back to the moment. There stands a tall brunette, gazing out to the sea as the waves crash against the white chalk cliffs, an area rather sentimental to the man. Just an hour's drive from their residence in Brighton, him and Schlatt would come here often. For picnics, stargazing, or even just to listen to the waves, far from the bustling town they called home. 

_We're all gonna die_

It was fitting. Back when they had been dating for a few months, Wilbur brought Schlatt here for the first time. To Schlatt, it seemed magical. It was such a contrast from New York, "the city that never sleeps", it seemed that this corner of the world was constantly drowsy, like a crisp Sunday morning bundled in blankets whilst the grass was frosted over. The first of the many many trips to the secluded coastline, Wilbur first told Schlatt that he loved him. It was fitting.

_We're all gonna die_

Wilbur took one step closer to the gleaming sea, the waves only getting louder. "Schlatt!" Wilbur called out. "Schlatt! Look, I'm here. I've always loved it here but I don't think I've ever felt quite as on top of the world as now. You said "see you later" and so I'm here Schlatt. Later was always too long. You and both know that.

_We're all gonna die_

"I've done everything I needed, my plans, my ambitions all complete! Everyone is going to be OK too!" He laughed almost manically, his voice starting to go hoarse. "Niki has her new boyfriend... Tommy and Tubbo have each other, Fundy, Eret, James, David, Charlie, Minx, Dream, everyone, they're all doing great! They won't mind, Schlatt, of course they won't mind. They'll have each other, and I will have you again!" The wind was whipping against his face, his nose and cheeks now a rosy colour, the rest of his face deathly pale as he shouted into the void that was the Atlantic Ocean and the galaxies above him.

_We're all gonna die_

"I love it when everything just neatly comes to a nice clean end, don't you? It's nice when things end with a little bow on the top, isn't it Schlatt. It's nice when things end with a bow on the top."

_We're all gonna die_

He took one step closer, at the edge of the chalky white cliff. "It is later now, isn't it Schlatt. I am so so grateful for life but there is nothing left to live for without you."

_We're all gonna die_

He took one more step.

_We're all gonna die._


End file.
